“We are deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and call on your government to take urgent and sustained action this month to reverse this trajectory.”
Blinken and Austin sound the alarm in the newspaper that the amount of aid coming to Gaza has dropped by 50% compared to the assurances given in March and April.
Israeli government statistics recorded 4,235 trucks entering Gaza in September, down from previous months, with an April peak of nearly 7,000 trucks, but more than the lows of December 2023 and February, when nearly 3,500 trucks have crossed the border.
But even if the aid trucks enter Gaza, the distribution route is restricted by the security situation and the ability of the aid groups to deliver the goods. Israeli government statistics show that while 104 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on October 15, only 12 trucks have been found and 530 aid trucks are awaiting collection. Senior Biden officials are asking Israel to take 15 immediate steps to increase all forms of humanitarian aid within 30 days or risk losing the weapons provided by the United States.
Among the measures taken are the authorization of a minimum of 350 trucks per day to enter the Gaza Strip; establish “adequate” humanitarian pauses to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid; strengthening the security of fixed humanitarian sites; and allowing people to move inland from a tent camp in the coastal enclave of al-Muwasi before winter. The letter also calls on the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to end the isolation of northern Gaza.
“Finally, it is vital that our governments create a new channel through which we can raise and discuss incidents of civil damage. Our efforts so far have not given the necessary results. We request that the first virtual meeting of this channel be held at the end of October,” write Blinken and Austin.
